Technological advances
are rapidly driving
change in the global
supply chain but there
are reservations around SA’s
ability to keep up with the
future changes in shipping –
especially with the high local
cost of bandwidth and some
infrastructural challenges
around technology.
“While there are challenges
with bandwidth and
wi-fi, South Africa has the
knowledge and the innovative
thinking to come up with
industry-changing ideas,”
commented CEO of CFR
Freight, Peter Schmidt-Löffler.
He added: “Traditionally
the pace of change is a tiny
bit slower in Africa and South
Africa but generally we adapt
quickly and there are no
major differences when it
comes to adoption of global
technologies.”
Schmidt-Löffler pointed
out however that at the rapid
pace the shipping industry
was changing – with major
multinational companies like
Amazon and Uber driving the
changes – it created innovative
thinking in SA.
He believes the SA supply
chain will be able to largely
keep pace with rapid advances,
highlighting that while there
are “some constraints” in the
access to data, the country
is seeing a lot of fibre optic
options emerging.
He added that the neutral
consolidation service
operator’s information
technology (IT) infrastructure
could easily stand up to
international requirements
and, in some cases, was even
at the forefront of development
technology.
“New solutions are being
introduced by the day.
Through our international
partnerships, we have full
exposure to all the IT solutions
and information channels that
are available,” said Schmidt-
Löffler.
He highlighted that CFR
Freight had also recently
strengthened its IT capabilities
to keep up with customer
demands for value-added,
technology-driven services.
Shipping technology is changing - can SA keep up?
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